All aboard the potty train! Go ahead and get comfortable, because once you get on board with potty training, you’re in for a long journey. There will be lots of starts and stops and, of course, a few accidents along the way—and that’s just at home. But what about when you’re going to a playdate at the park or a trip to the grocery store or anywhere, for that matter, beyond a five-minute radius from your own bathroom? No worries. Travel potties, also known as portable potties, bring the bathroom to you.

 

 

Best Classic Travel Potty Seat: BabyBjorn Toilet Trainer

 

Best Packable Travel Potty Seat: PRIMO Folding Potty Seat With Handles

 

Best Light And Cushy Travel Potty Seat: Dreambaby Soft Touch Potty Seat

 

Best 2-In-1 Travel Potty Chair: OXO Tot 2-In-1 Go Potty For Travel

 

Best Easy-To-Clean Travel Potty Chair: BabyBjorn Smart Potty Seat

 

Best Travel Potty Chair For The Car: Summer Infant Time-To-Go Travel Potty

 

 

What to Consider When Buying a Travel Potty

 

There are lots of take-along toilets on the market, and these can be real lifesavers (and car seat savers and clothing savers…). Finding the right travel potty — or potties — really depends on a couple of key factors.

 

First, your lifestyle. Where are you most likely to make a potty stop? Will you be traveling by car, stroller or public transportation? If you’re driving everywhere, for example, you can afford to bring along a larger potty chair. If you will carry the potty in a diaper bag or under a stroller, on the other hand, you’ll probably want to choose a seat that folds flat and comes with a carrying case.

 

Second, you need to consider your child’s individual preference. You’re looking for a potty that feels right, both physically and psychologically. While it’s not difficult to match your child’s bottom to the potty seat (just have him pop a squat), it’s not as easy to predict what travel potty seat your child will actually want to use. That is always, forgive the phrase, a crap shoot, so be sure to check the retailer’s return policy.

 

To start your search, you should know about the two different categories for travel potties:

 

• • • •  Potty chair

This is a lightweight, personal perch for your child. It stands alone as its own child-sized potty and does not have a removable seat to use on an adult toilet. A kid-sized chair is less intimidating for a child, as it’s the right height, its smaller seat and opening fits tiny bums better and there is no flush to trigger a regressive freak-out. Getting rid of waste with chair potties generally works one of two ways: It either uses a disposable bag that is secured to the seat, which is a useful design for stops along the highway or places where you don’t have access to running water. Or the potty has a removable inner basin that can be emptied into a regular toilet and rinsed out when the deed is done.

 

• • • • Seat-on-seat

This type of portable potty is just the seat and nothing but the seat. It’s a child-sized ring that you secure on top of a regular toilet seat so that your kid can sit comfortably without worrying about a scary splashdown. These seats take up very little room, are very light and, when tucked inside a travel bag, are very discreet. They work everywhere that offers a restroom, like a grocery store, an airport or a library. And they are relatively inexpensive, so you can always stash one at Grandma’s house.

 

Here is our roundup of the best seats that will help you keep your child’s potty training on track.